Daily Digest

by Daily Digest

This is Good News Friday, where we find some good economic, energy, and environmental news and share it with PP readers. Please send any positive news to [email protected] with subject header "Good News Friday." We will save and post weekly. Enjoy!

Economy

The fungal fossils were found in rocks that were probably once part a shallow-water estuary. Such environments are typically great for fungi thanks to nutrient-rich waters and the build up of washed-up organic matter to feed on. The high salinity, high mineral and low oxygen content of these ancient coastal habitats also provided great conditions to perfectly preserve the tough chitin molecules embedded within fungal cell walls that otherwise would have decomposed.

None of the contestants faltered. They each got their own moment of triumph as they correctly spelled their words in the 20th round, then patiently sat back in their seats as the next contestant had their moment. They supported one another with high-fives and hugs, and each placed a hand on a single trophy.

In those first few years after Elon Musk outlined, in remarkable detail, his vision for a new kind of transportation system that relied on sealed pods, depressurized tubes, and a magnetic levitation and propulsion system, Hyperloop One (now called Virgin Hyperloop One, or VHO), raced to the head of an emerging class of companies developing versions of the technology. Then-CEO Rob Lloyd announced that the company would be moving cargo by 2019 and people by 2021.

The importance of improving air quality has become imperative. “Pollution often is a silent killer and is one of the greatest health hazards in Amsterdam,” Amsterdam Traffic Councillor Sharon Dijksma said. The current levels of nitrogen dioxide and particle matter can cause repertory illnesses, as well as shorten life expectancy by more than a year. It turns out walking to work is good for your health in more ways than one.

Professor Mike Cruise, President of the Royal Astronomical Society said: “It’s wonderful to see events from our scientific past brought back to life. Astronomers are always keen to embrace new technology, and our forerunners a century ago were no exception. These scenes of a total solar eclipse – one of the most spectacular sights in astronomy – are a captivating glimpse of Victorian science in action.”

Hope in a Changing Climate optimistically reframes the debate on global warming. Illustrating that large, decimated eco-systems can be restored, the BBC World documentary reveals success stories from Ethiopia, Rwanda and China which prove that bringing large areas back from environmental ruin is possible, and key to stabilising the earth’s climate, eradicating poverty and making sustainable agriculture a reality.

“Desertification is a fancy word for land that is turning to desert,” begins Allan Savory in this quietly powerful talk. And terrifyingly, it’s happening to about two-thirds of the world’s grasslands, accelerating climate change and causing traditional grazing societies to descend into social chaos. Savory has devoted his life to stopping it. He now believes — and his work so far shows — that a surprising factor can protect grasslands and even reclaim degraded land that was once desert.

“The real wealth of the Nation lies in the resources of the earth — soil, water, forests, minerals, and wildlife,” she wrote in a 1953 letter to the Washington Post. “To utilise them for present needs while insuring their preservation for future generations requires a delicately balanced and continuing program, based on the most extensive research.”

Gold & Silver

Article suggestions for the Daily Digest can be sent to [email protected]. All suggestions are filtered by the Daily Digest team and preference is given to those that are in alignment with the message of the Crash Course and the "3 Es."

smart anything = spying

I have a smart TV – because I’m renting, and my landlord supplied it to me. I unplug it rather than turn it off – and I turn it on just to watch movies.

IOT – it is really asking for trouble. They are almost guaranteed to be insecure, either by design, or because they use the cheapest network tech that is easily broken into.

And of course if you don’t want the big guy to know where you go and what you do, its probably best to leave that glowing rectangle at home. Cameras will still pick you up, but at least they won’t have your SIM card radiating your identity to identify you for certain.

And lastly, there’s aerial surveillance, courtesy of our war in Iraq. A small plane orbits the city, taking a high res picture every second. It records the pictures forever. If a crime is committed (or someone’s behavior needs to be tracked back from some “interesting event”), the “tape” is played backwards from the event, and “the authorities” are able to watch history unwind. The murderer can be tracked back to his home, by looking at the series of pictures starting from the time and place of the murder, and playing “the tape” in reverse. Integrate this with cell tower tracking data…sensor fusion they call it – it is really powerful stuff. Loop in street surveillance cameras…it is digital time travel.

It’s “only” Baltimore” but what if the trend moves to where you live?

Baltimore Police have recently released footage from body cameras and street cams of some of the attacks that occurred in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor on Memorial Day.

In a few of the scenes, officers had to run toward attacks and apprehend those responsible for starting the violence. In others, some teens can be seen running toward the police officers for safety, with one team literally sprinting into the arms of a police officer who then attempt to calm him down.

Another shows a group of black teens beating up a white man until officers pushed them all aside and rescued him. Another shows a black teen standing atop a stoop and kicking an unsuspecting white male in the face as he walked by. The while male kept walking, while the black male seemed to get a congratulatory hand slap from a friend.

And apparently there’s an agreement among the MSM not to cover this. It does not apparently meet the definition of “news.” What else is are you not hearing about?